It’s a rainy Sunday which I spent sleeping most of the day. Aside from the typhoon in the country that somehow signaled the end of the summer season, today is also a Mother’s Day. So, Happy Mother’s Day to my mother and to all mothers who read this blog.

On this post, I give you the second recipe of Mrs. Trinidad Cayco (which is pretty much the same recipe of lola) whom apparently celebrated her 54th wedding anniversary with her husband this week. 54 years, guys! That’s like 13 Olympic Games. So, that’s another reason for celebration. Happy Anniversary, Larry’s nanay and tatay!

Anyway, today’s recipe is Ginisang Sitaw at Kalabasa or Yardlong Beans & Squash Stir Fry. When I was younger, I was a picky eater. Vegetables are at the bottom of the list of my favorite foods. But what kid likes vegetables anyway? There are, however, some exceptions to the rule — I like sitaw and kalabasa. So here’s the recipe of my two favorite vegetables in one dish.

In a skillet over medium heat, sauté garlic, onion, and tomato. Add the shrimp. Cook until red. Add the vegetables. Stir fry for about 10 minutes. Add water. Cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.

While waiting, pound the shrimp heads and shells using mortar and pestle. Place in a strainer in order to extract the juice. Add some water to the shells just enough to get more extract out of it. Add the shrimp extract to the vegetables.

Season with fish sauce, salt, pepper, and vetsin. Cook for a few more minutes or until the vegetables are ready.

You may also like

9 Comments

Why use MSG? It is a major cause for migraine headaches and asthma and many more problems. In the old days they would use mushrooms or seaweed or both in place of MSG. Mushrooms and seawood produce natural forms of MSG which isn’t harmful like MSG in dried flakey form. In the dried form chemicals are added to MSG. Two main producers of MSG are Ajinomoto and Accent. This dish is fantastic without the MSG.